ESPN Staff Revolt Over Network's Cover-Up of Ballmer Probe
ESPN insiders published a false story clearing Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, and angry staff say the network still hasn't issued a retraction.
ESPN staff have gone public with anger over how their own network handled the NBA's investigation into Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, calling the episode, in the words reported by Status, a "reputational catastrophe."
On 17 August, ESPN insiders Shams Charania and Ramona Shelburne published a story reporting that the NBA had found no wrongdoing by Ballmer, who had been suspected of funnelling secret payments to Kawhi Leonard to get around the salary cap. The league called the story "inaccurate" within hours.
Two weeks later the NBA delivered its verdict: a $30-million fine for the Clippers, five first-round picks stripped, and a one-year suspension for Ballmer from running the club — the penalties Sports.ru reported on 4 September. It has since emerged that Clippers executives had used ESPN's own insiders to plant false information and shield the owner's reputation.
The real reporting came from outside the network. Pablo Torre, a former ESPN employee now working as an independent journalist, ran the investigation that actually held up, and won a Pulitzer Prize for it.
What has angered the newsroom further is that management has still not issued a formal retraction of the 17 August story.
If that retraction keeps not coming, the story may end up being less about Ballmer's punishment — already handed down — than about what it costs ESPN's insiders the next time they report something the league disputes.
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